Get A Life: It’s about meaning, not perfection

Monday

Mar 3, 2014 at 10:16 AMMar 3, 2014 at 10:16 AM

By Loretta LaRocheMore Content Now

Not a day goes by without an e-mail that invites me to be part of a program that will help me to seek my highest potential. They cover every aspect of life and could include, losing weight, removing toxins from my mind and body, learning to deal with difficult people, finding my soul mate, acquiring financial freedom, finding my inner warrior, or goddess, or fairy godmother.

Now believe me when I tell you that I think that there is merit in some of the aforementioned. I have been an avid student of self-improvement. However, when I was on my journey much of what I read was written by the great humanitarian psychologist, Abraham Maslow whose hierarchy of self esteem made perfect sense. I also admired the work of Dr. Victor Frankl, a psychiatrist, who had survived the Holocaust and whose ultimate message is to discover meaning in life in order to become more resilient when life hands you difficulties.

What I loved about both of these brilliant men was the fact that their essential message was about becoming a tool to make a difference in the world for the betterment of mankind. It seems today that the focus is on the ME, ME, ME! There is so much emphasis on this that Time magazine recently had a cover about the “me generation” and how their social skills were diminishing bit by bit.

So many people have become invested in spending hours trying to fix themselves and others around them that they have made it into a job. When is enough, enough? Can we ever get to the point where we are capable of enjoying ourselves and our peculiarities? The drive to become perfect in every way feels robotic. I happen to like individuals who are characters, who live on the edge of eccentricity and are juicy and succulent.

My family of origin had many characters who have become part of my storytelling process. They were fun-loving, took care of their loved ones, ate with gusto and had little interest in discovering their inner Hobbit. My intention is to follow suit. I am hoping to live long enough to emulate people like Ruth Gordon or Elaine Stritch. I just saw a documentary on Elaine’s life, and she is one bawdy broad. I am working on following in her footsteps.